General Information
Cardiovascular disease remains our leading health problem despite numerous advances and a decade of declining results, it is still the leading cause of death in INDIA and many other countries. Millions of people have no symptoms, in fact, many do not know that they have potentially serious illness until they suffer a heart attack, stroke or sudden death.
Who gets heart diseases ?
Until the middle of this century, most people regarded heart disease as an inevitable part of aging or the result of events that people had no control over, such as rheumatic fever or congenital defects. This opinion has changed as a result of number of large scale population (Epidemiologic) studies in which life style and pattern of disease are investigated. One of the most notable and quoted of these has been the Framingham Heart Study, which have identified a number of life style habits and other factors that increase the risk of Cardiovascular disease.
Lifestyle
The lifestyle modification is the simplest, cheapest and the most effective way for prevention and reversal of coronary artery disease (the progressive narrowing of the blood vessel that nourish the heart muscle). Not only that it improves the total health, enhances overall survival and better the quality of life.
Healthy Eating
Eating should be pleasurable and fun. Whilst there is no such thing as good or a bad food, some foods can be eaten more frequently that others. It is important that you have a sensible and balanced diet.
Eat Less Fat
Grill or baked food, If you want to try avoid frying and low mono-unsaturated fatty oil like olive oil, refined mustard oil, choose lean meat, poultry and fish. Eat less saturated fat i.e. dairy products and fatty meats, like skimmed milk.
Cholesterol Also called: HDL, Hypercholesterolemia, Hyperlipidemia, Hyperlipoproteinemia, LDL
Cholesterol is a waxy, fat-like substance that occurs naturally in all parts of the body. Your body needs some cholesterol to work properly. But if you have too much in your blood, it can stick to the walls of your arteries. This is called plaque. Plaque can narrow your arteries or even block them.
High levels of cholesterol in the blood can increase your risk of heart disease. Your cholesterol levels tend to rise as you get older. There are usually no signs or symptoms that you have high blood cholesterol, but it can be detected with a blood test. You are likely to have high cholesterol if members of your family have it, if you are overweight or if you eat a lot of fatty foods.
You can lower your cholesterol by exercising more and eating more fruits and vegetables. You also may need to take medicine to lower your cholesterol.